The song Paul Simon wrote for Bob Dylan: “I thought he could be the voice of wisdom”
There are few members of songwriting royalty with more prestige attached to their names than Paul Simon and Bob Dylan.
The work they’ve created in their own right changed the very definition of songwriting and has inspired every generation that has come in their wake. It altered how people considered songwriting as an art form, with Dylan, particularly, tearing up the rulebook to teach others that there was a different way to go about their business.
As a result of their contribution to music, both Simon and Dylan are permanently woven fixtures into the collective cultural fabric, which will never change. In hundreds of years to come, their creations will undoubtedly still live on, and both will be revered like composers from the distant past.
Despite both coming from folk beginnings, they are both singular talents that approach songwriting uniquely. Naturally, there is a strong mutual appreciation, and Simon has always been open about how much Dylan strongly influenced the early chapter of his career. He has also paid his respect to his musical peer on numerous occasions.
During an interview in 2011, Simon discussed who he thought was the greatest singer-songwriter of all time and, more personally, why he doesn’t believe he’s on the same level as Dylan. “Then, in the second tier, [John] Lennon is there, [Bob] Dylan is there, Bob Marley and Stephen Sondheim are there, and maybe I’m there too. It’s about whose songs last,” he told Mojo.
Explaining why his status in the group isn’t solidified, Simon said, “One of my deficiencies is my voice sounds sincere. I’ve tried to sound ironic. I don’t. I can’t. Dylan, everything he sings has two meanings. He’s telling you the truth and making fun of you at the same time. I sound sincere every time.”
In the same interview, Simon opened up about a failed collaboration with Dylan, which he attempted to record for his 2011 album, So Beautiful Or So What. For the titular track, the ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water ‘singer envisioned them both coming together on the effort. For a time, he believed Dylan had agreed to participate in the project. Sadly, his excitement proved to be misjudged as the studio session never ended up taking place.
Undeterred by the rejection, Simon chose against discarding the song and instead recorded it as a solo effort. “I’d written the title track ‘So Beautiful Or So What’, and there were two verses that I thought would be good for Bob,” Simon explained of the song’s genesis. “It’s kind of a blue song, and I thought it could accommodate his voice now that it’s real rough. I thought he could be the voice of wisdom. I sent a message via our mutual manager asking if Bob would like to sing on the song.”
Although Simon did hear that “he liked it and he wanted to do it”, sadly, he “never heard anything more”. While Simon could have waited around for Dylan to answer his call eventually, he had a deadline to meet for the album and needed to get the song finished. “It was no big deal,” he shrugged.
While it’s a crying shame that Dylan was unable to complete Simon’s vision for the song, that didn’t impact the singer-songwriter’s view of his friend. They already have a storied history together, including a co-headline tour in 1999, and the very fact that Dylan’s name popped into his mind while writing the track shows just how highly Simon regards him.
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